Ash‭

Some elements that can be clearly seen and described occur to me: Graffiti is common where people feel disenfranchised, it seems to form an outlet for people who feel they don't have a voice. Di...

posted 5y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

No-one can answer that for you but you, do you find that the end result justifies the practice? I can't write in fragments because they either A. don't fit when I come to stitch the whole together,...

posted 7y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

The problem I always have with this question, and any other question that asks, directly or indirectly, about our readers' knowledge is that no two people ever come at a story from exactly the same...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

The nicest way I've ever seen of pointing out hand gestures and body language in a narrative without disrupting it was to not specify what the hand gestures/body language are/is but simply to note ...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

The same way you can point out the same relationship between any pairing people think/assume are romantically involved, show how funny and/or gross they find the idea that they could ever be more t...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

I've been told, by professional teachers of creative writing no less, that the correct number of exclamation marks to use in any finished piece of writing is zero; I've also read the works of Terry...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

It depends to what degree you change perspective, if you're switching from one first person narrative to another you can do this smoothly enough. Switching from first person to third can be, and of...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Here's some thoughts, I tried to write something cohesive but no dice today. If you have multiple storylines told from the perspective of different characters then you have two options: tell se...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Characters should view the narrative from the present, a good way to keep the reader in the dark about the future of the story is to present a first person narrative and have the reader only know w...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

A character need not have any impact on the plot, in terms of making things happen, to be an active player in the narrative as a whole. Take S.M. Stirling's Odard Liu; he spends three books as a mi...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Sure, take the example of the Library story arc in Doctor Who, we see River Song tell the Doctor his name by way of convincing him she's trustworthy but we don't hear it. The audience only know wha...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Explain what needs to be explained as it becomes relevant rather than trying to present all the information in one go. This has certain advantages: it avoids dumping all the information on the au...

posted 6y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Short answer: break where it makes sense. Some points at which breaks are traditionally made or ways to define breaks include: change of site, the place the action is taking place changes. chang...

posted 5y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

I've met a few of these but the most recent instance was two characters discussing buying a third character a drink when they all got home, on the first reading this is a simple moment of comradery...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

It's been done a fair few time, I've written a short story this way myself, over two decades ago mind you. It can be done, my recollection is that it came out pretty stilted but I was only 12 so it...

posted 5y ago by Ash‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭